Page 1 of A Housekeeper for the Earl of Drinkwater
Chapter One
The drawing room of Magnolia House was cherry. All the furniture was crafted from light-brown wood, and the upholstery alternated between pale-blue and white. The drapes were seafoam-green, and the décor consisted of pewter candlesticks and crystal vases filled with bright yellow and pink flowers.
The paintings on the walls depicted beautiful landscapes and smiling people. It was, perhaps, the brightest room in the house.
The mood inside the room, however, was far from cheerful. Serena White looked over the paper in front of her, presented by her family’s solicitor, Ezekiel Tate, shaking her head in disbelief.
“I do not understand,” she said. “Mother assured me that I would inherit the house, and that there was enough money to keep me for life.”
The solicitor gave her a smile she thought was meant to be sympathetic.
“I am sorry, Miss White,” he said with a shrug. “But, as you can see here, the house has been mortgaged. And the money, unfortunately, is sorely depleted.”
Serena shook her head again, and a strand of her golden-brown hair fell down into her eyes. She brushed it back behind her ear.
“Mother has only been dead for a month,” she said. “How could I possibly have spent everything in such a short time? I only just began purchasing new supplies the day before yesterday. And if the house was mortgaged, there should be something left, even if the rest of the family fortune is gone.”
Ezekiel shrugged again, his black eyes regarding her intently.
“It appears as though the house mortgage was used to pay off debts from bad investments,” he said with a long sigh. “I advised your mother against these investments, but she insisted that my father believed them to be a good idea. I wish I could say so for myself, but I am still very new to his business and clients.”
Serena looked at the red-headed young man for a moment. Irwin Tate, Ezekiel’s father, had been her family’s original solicitor. He’d served her family for many years, and he’d proved both honest and shrewd when it came to his advice. He’d been a good man, and Serena had been deeply saddened to learn of his death just a year prior.
But his son had been his assistant for a few years before his death. She would have expected him to have a better understanding of his family’s business. She was hardly a business expert, however, and she scolded herself for being so judgmental.
She could not begin to guess how difficult it must be to have to suddenly take over his father’s business with so little warning. And he was trying to help her, now that both the Baron and Baroness White were gone.
“Mother would never have followed advice she believed to be bad,” she said. “Maybe your father told her that just after my father died, but she waited too late to act on it, and the timing was wrong.”
The solicitor sighed.
“It is possible,” he said thoughtfully. “But regardless, the situation remains the same. I am afraid you have almost nothing to your name.”
Serena’s lip trembled. She looked away from the young solicitor, staring at her reflection in the window glass. Her peachy complexion was gone, as was her usual natural blush. As they had been so often in the weeks since her mother’s death, her cheeks were pale, and her light golden-brown eyes had a haunted look about them.
Now, however, they had a look of shock and betrayal in them, as well. How could her mother have lied to her? How would she survive, without so much as the house she was supposed to have inherited?
“I don’t understand,” she repeated, but she did, unfortunately, understand. She was penniless as well as homeless, and she had no idea what she would do. She had been sure her mother had been telling her the truth, as far as she understood it. And now, she would have to find a solution to her problems, practically overnight. What was she to do?
“I am sorry, Miss Serena,” he said, reaching out and taking her hand. “I know this must be devastating news for you to hear, and so soon after your mother’s death.”
Serena gave the man a small smile, trying to take comfort in his gesture.
“I cannot thank you for the news that you have given me,” she said sadly. “But I do appreciate your candour.”
The man suddenly grinned, and, for a reason Serena could not explain, it made her shudder.
“I am glad to hear you say so,” he said. “I have a very candid question that I would ask you.”
Feeling suddenly on edge, Serena nodded.
“Very well,” she said. “What would you like to ask?”
He suddenly took her hand with both of his, which startled her, and he looked at her intently with his black eyes.
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
Serena recoiled, yanking her hand from his, and looking at him with horror. She searched for any signs of jest, in poor taste though it would have been. When she saw none, she shook her head.
